Title:	Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery
	Author:	Michelle Eshkeri
	Published:	September 10, 2019, White Lion Publishing
	No. of Pages:	224
	Cover Price:	$35.00 Hardcover

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Margot Bakery is a popular bakery in East Finchley, London, and was opened in 2016 by Michelle Eshkeri, who supposed her friends would like to be able to purchase the specialties she had always baked at home. It happened that not only her friends wanted her baked goods, but people all over London wanted her baked goods. Because the bakery has been so popular, and customers have requested recipes so they could duplicate them at home, Eshkeri has published them in an excellent cookbook, Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery.

Anyone who wants to learn the art of baking sourdough will want to purchase this excellent cookbook. It has step-by-step instructions on creating a sourdough starter, and then using the starter in dozens of mouthwatering recipes. The photographs (Patricia Niven has outdone herself) in the cookbook are excellent, and readers will want to stay home and bake for days.

This cookbook is not for those who are inpatient; rather, it is for those serious bakers who want to learn and are willing to put in the time (lots of time!) to make sourdough. I followed the instructions to the letter, and found that even though there was a lot of waiting time (even baking a loaf of bread involves not only the main starter, but another starter and then the shaped loaf has to sit in the fridge 12-16 hours before it’s ready to bake) the loaves turned out pretty good. Because I don’t live in London, I have had to adjust the recipes to work in my different altitude, using American flour, and a dry climate where I live. I’m happy to say, the patience has paid off and my loaves are starting to look better, and most importantly, taste amazing. The Cheddar and Paprika bread is presently in the fridge having a 16 hour sit before baking.

While sourdough is the main focus of the book, there are other excellent recipes for baked goods that aren’t sourdough, i.e., Lily’s Tahini Cookies and Hazelnut Friands.

While this cookbook is well-written and has mouthwatering recipes, it isn’t for everyone. It is for serious bakers who want to bake something a little outside of the box. Those willing to take the time will love it.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.